Dec 16, 2015

How NASA Sees El Nino Effects From Space

This winter, weather patterns may be fairly different than what’s typical – all because of unusually warm ocean water in the east equatorial Pacific, an event known as El Nino. Because of El Nino, California is expected to get more rain, while Australia is expected to get less. Since this El Nino began last summer, the Pacific Ocean has already experienced an increase in tropical storms and a decrease in phytoplankton.

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El Nino is an irregularly occurring weather phenomenon created through an abnormality in wind and ocean circulation. While it originates in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, El Nino has wide-reaching effects. In a global context, it affects rainfall, ocean productivity, atmospheric gases and winds across continents. At a local level, it influences water supplies, fishing industries and food sources.

With its scientific expertise and more than a dozen Earth-observing satellites, NASA is a leader in observing the local and global effects of El Nino. NASA data help scientists learn more about the mechanics of El Nino events, the interconnectedness of Earth’s climate and weather systems and how our daily lives are affected by these periodic climate events.

Discover some of El Nino’s key impacts and how NASA studies them from space… find more at link and page